Mid Sierra Musings: Dusy Basin Hike 2015

Dale Matson

21.5 total miles

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

This was a three-day two-night hike to Dusy Basin from the South Lake trailhead near Bishop California. We left Fresno at 4am and headed to Bishop through Yosemite over Tioga Pass. We arrived about 8:15am and picked up our walk-in wilderness permit for three individuals.

We took highway 168 West to the South Lake cut off and parked at the trailhead. We were on our way by about 9:30am. People we met on the trail were complaining of mosquitos but there was a breeze blowing and we were moving most of the time.

This hike is wonderful in many ways. There are lakes along the route, the view is grand and the trail is well maintained. It is popular for day hikers with dogs that go as far as Bishop Pass and turn around because dogs are not allowed in Kings Canyon Park. You see lots of fishermen also on their way to one of the lakes. This trail also goes south (through Dusy Basin) and joins the John Muir Trail in LeConte Canyon.

The climb up to Bishop Pass (about 12,000’) was more difficult this year because of the weight extra camera gear. The trail maintenance people had just finished clearing the last snow from the steps on the north side of the trail. We had to cross about 100’ of snow to the pass.

Our intent was to camp overnight in Dusy Basin and do a day hike into Palisade Basin with a second overnight in Dusy. As it turned out we never even got to Knapsack Pass before turning back. There is no trail and the boulder hopping was very tiring. I fell but was not seriously hurt. I do carry a satellite phone if necessary. As it turned out, my Sony A7R stopped sending files to the memory card the morning of the second day. A day and a half of our trip was not recorded on the SD memory card. Too bad!

We turned around about 10am and headed back to our camp. We decided to break camp and head back over Bishop Pass for an overnight at Bishop Lake. We left about 2pm and were at Bishop Lake about 5pm. I was lagging behind my friends Carlos and Rusty who were patient with me and frequently waited for me to catch up. It was a lovely spot with a mountain view. Our hike out started around 7am and I was at my truck by ll:30am. We had lunch in Bishop and were back to Fresno over Tioga Pass by 5pm. It was really great to have others share the driving. If I had been by myself, I would have stayed the night in Bishop before driving home. Backpacking is more enjoyable with friends. Thanks gentlemen.

I used three lenses for these photographs. My native 55mm/f1.8 Zeiss was my carry lens. I also had an adapted Canon 17-40mm f4 lens and Sony G 70-200 native lens. I'm not sure this trip required the G lens. I only took two shots at 200mm. When you are in the mountains it seems like a telephoto just doesn’t take in enough real estate.